Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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WORLD SUPERBIKE WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 8/JUNE 21, 2015 MISANO WORLD CIRCUIT "MARCO SIMONCELLI"/MISANO, ITALY P102 With a new four year contract extension in its back pocket Misano can look forward to more tight and occasionally thrilling World Superbike weekends like this, with real battles and some hefty moves being put in by even the top riders. In the championship points, with eight of 13 rounds now com- pleted, Rea leads by a still eye- watering 133 points, with 375 to Sykes' 242. Haslam retained third with 226, Davies is fourth on 213 and Torres has 140, after a fall in race one. Next race is at Laguna Seca on July 19 but people are already talking about Biaggi coming back for the round after that, Sepang, on August 2. CN RACE ONE 1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 3. Chaz Davies (Ducati) 4. Davide Giugliano (Ducati) 5. Leon Haslam (Aprilia) 6. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 7. Ayrton Badovini (BMW) 8. Michele Pirro (Ducati) 9. Sylvain Guintoli (Honda) 10. Michael van der Mark (Honda) RACE TWO 1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 2. Davide Giugliano (Ducati) 3. Leon Haslam (Aprilia) 4. Chaz Davies (Ducati) 5. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 6. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 7. Jordi Torres (Aprilia) 8. Michele Pirro (Ducati) 9. Sylvain Guintoli (Honda) 10. Michael van der Mark (Honda) >>REA TALKS BIAGGI After Kawasaki Racing Team's Jonathan Rea had a close up look at Max Biaggi and his factory Aprilia at Mi- sano, Rea thinks he knows why he was so fast. "Max [Biaggi] has a massive advantage really," said Rea on Friday at Misano. "If you give a factory free reign to make an engine for one race then they can do a really good job, because he is not a full-time championship contender they do not have to worry about the engine limitations." There is also the factor of Biaggi himself, according to Rea. "Also, credit to Max because he is a very good rider. I watched him today, had some laps behind him and he looked very smooth. You can tell he has done many laps testing here, he looks composed and it is nice to see him back. Friday was practice, but it is a different story on Sunday." Rea declared himself not shocked at the speed of Biaggi, given his test regime and his vast experience. "I expected Max to be competitive," he said. "Why not? He is a World Champion. He has been testing, probably riding more miles a year than myself in the year. Do you not think so? He has not sat at home on the couch, he has been testing, testing, especially leading up to this race. We peak 13 times in the year at races and this is his championship." Rea agreed that overly good raceday results for Biaggi would be a bad thing for World Superbike in general. "I think it is great what he is doing but if he beats everybody on Sunday it is not good for the championship, or us as riders but this is a decision Aprilia and the championship made to bring him here," said Rea. "He had all these concessions that he can test. To do one lap very fast and put some fresh tires in at the end of the session, and he has done a really fast lap. But to be strong for 21-laps in the World Champion- ship, with 50 C [122 F] on the track is a different story." Rea thinks a win from Biaggi would be one of the all- time great performances in World Superbike history. "If he wins on Sunday it is an incredible job, people should talk about it for ever and ever, because he has not had race experience recently, but what he has done is a lot of laps," said Rea. "But two races is for sure a different challenge for him. I hope he does a good job because I like him and he is a role model rider for me be- cause his style is so nice but it also depends how much he wants to win because the level of commitment that I want to win is a little bit more than him." Points leader Jonthan Rea talks Max Biaggi's return.